Bag house dust collectors are generally used to filter particulate material from industrial offgases, before the gases are vented or cycled. The arrangements generally include flexible filter bags supported within the construction. The filter bags are generally secured to a tube sheet, by a tube flange. The tube sheet separates the clean air side from the dirty air side of the filter system or collector. In the past, a conventional, threaded shank, steel bolt and riv-nut design has been used for the connection.
Large industrial bag house dust collectors may include hundreds of filter tubes therein. For each filter tube, there are generally at least two bolts used to provide the connection between the tube flange and the tube sheet. In the environment of a bag house, there have been problems with conventional bolt designs. These relate primarily to: loss of loose parts; plugging of threads due to dust in the environment of use; and, ease of assembly.